Nikola Jokic’s conclusion from the Luka Doncic trade is great in theory and terrible in practice.
The stunning Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers sent a shockwave throughout the NBA. Beyond us fans, though, it seemingly impacted the league’s superstars even more.
Before the Doncic deal, most franchise players likely assumed they could never be jettisoned without a second thought or so much as a formal goodbye. Now, with a young star like Doncic shipped out, seemingly on a whim, guys like the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards are understandably shaken. After all, if a 25-year-old Doncic nearing the prime of his career can be traded away in the middle of the night, it’s not hard to imagine that anyone else could, too.
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has a different perspective on the Doncic aftermath. (And it matches something he’s said about his Denver Nuggets teammates before.) After his Nuggets dispatched the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, Jokic, who is notably close friends with Doncic, maintained that the trade surprised him.
OK, sure. Nothing really to write home about there.
However, Jokic didn’t seem disconcerted about him or anyone else getting traded or anything like that. Instead, he shared an old-school mindset about how “nobody’s safe” anymore and that something like a shocking trade should always hang over everyone as motivation.
In other words, you either consistently perform or you’re out.
On the one hand, I agree with the Nuggets’ superstar on some level. But that agreement doesn’t come without its caveats:
Jokic’s central assertion is that there should be more motivating factors to perform well for the faces of the NBA. At the base level, I see his point. The league (especially commissioner Adam Silver) has done so much in recent years to try and push its pillars to do more, to simply compete and care more over a long 82-game season.
Why do you think the in-season tournament was installed? What about the play-in tournament? What about all these convoluted “solutions” for the competitive spirit of the All-Star Game? At the very least, it’s clear the NBA sees a problem with the complete buy-in of its stars.
At the same time, though, when Jokic says no one should feel safe, he’s almost certainly not thinking of rank-and-file NBA players. (I mean, for one, not many are considering what happened to Jalen Hood-Schifino going to the Utah Jazz or Max Christie heading to the Dallas Mavericks.)
Who’s to say role players aren’t wearing their hearts on their sleeves every night? Who’s to say they’re not motivated to give 100 percent effort as much as they physically and mentally can? They are not guaranteed the same things (Brinks Trucks of money, immense fame, etc.) as stars. They don’t get the keys to the franchise that guys like Jokic do. Many of these players treat a bog-standard game in the dog days of the regular season like it’ll be the last they ever play. Most of them don’t take a single day for granted.
I agree with Jokic’s general premise. The NBA does have a major issue properly motivating its superstars to respect the game. It probably has to be addressed in earnest without a galaxy brain plan from an overmatched commissioner. But simply suggesting less overarching security for stars trickles down in a harmful and unsustainable way for everyone else. Taking that kind of power out of players’ hands is not the answer.
It’s not that black and white.
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